Growing Vegetables

Rock mulch has many advantages,  stones hold solar heat for longer periods than most oth­er mulching material and maintain an ideal soil condition. By utilizing stones in conjunction with other mulch substances, such as shredded oak leaves, pine needles, straw and sawdust, you can achieve healthier plants, greater productivity and a longer crop life span.

When soil begins to cool off rapidly in autumn, the soil of stone-mulched plants will continue to remain warm, extending the plants’ growing season for approximately another four weeks. Leaves, straw and similar materials warm up quickly in sun, but because of their limited capacity to retain heat, cool off rapidly at night or on cloudy days. Stones have the ability to store the sun’s heat during the day­ time, then release it gradually during the night, warming the lower air temperature micro climate surrounding the plants.

Stones are capable of protecting the lower leaves of many low-growing plants within a few degrees of freezing. With a stone-mulched bed, you can keep late-planted fall crops such as beets , lettuce and broccoli growing weeks after the other soil has turned cold and unproductive. Hardy herb seed, like parsley will germinate earlier and produce healthier plants when sown in such a bed during the fall. Where only a few plants are desired, you can have  excellent results by sowing seed in the openings and gaps between stones, after filling them with good soil.

Soil thaws out slowly in the springtime but rock mulch areas heat the soil more rapidly, allowing us to set out tomato and other plants two to three weeks earlier. Using a stone-straw-leaf mulch around tomato plants also has produced a reduction in both cracking and blossom-end rot,Beds are first cultivated deeply with good compost worked into the soil, After the bed is prepared and the planting rows marked, apply a heavy layer of shredded oak leaves, pine needles and straw (individually or a combination) on both sides of each planting row,Stones, preferably medium-size rocks, are then set down firmly and close to­gether on the mulch mate­rial. The stone’s flattest side should be on top. The open areas between the rocks are then filled with gravel, sawdust or soil.this permanent rock mulch may be left undisturbed for years. The only change made is in summer, when a thick layer of straw or leaves is placed on top of the stones to keep them from reflecting too much heat against the plants. In early autumn, this mate­rial is raked aside to expose the rocks and soil once more to solar heat.

Further Reading:

• Colorado Newcomers and Gardening - Organic mulch can be hay, wood chips, grass clippings while inorganic mulches are rock mulch or gravel. Each one has their advantages and disadvantages. I prefer to use organic mulches because not only do they prevent soil erosion and …

• The Form and Occasional Placidity Of Stones - Rock Work - I have such a long term relationship with rocks, stones, gravel and rock mulch, when I get to Heaven I am positive they will put me in a celestial excavator and dump some titanic load of fractured Glacial Schist for me to make stuff out …

• Why Do We Need to Mulch? - Reasoning for rock mulch varies. The common advantages to rock is the lasting quality of the material. Rock doesn’t need to be refreshed each year like mulch does. It provides a slightly better weed barrier than wood mulch, however, …

• rock mulch - In agriculture and gardening, mulch is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of natural and synthetic materials are used.// PurposesMulches are used for various …